Rebuilding: Lots of ideas, little direction

A month after Hurricane Katrina roared in, political leaders are taking their first steps toward rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region, but they are heading off in different -- and possibly conflicting -- directions.

The mayor of New Orleans is creating one commission to oversee the task. State officials say they are best suited to handle the reconstruction. And some on the Gulf Coast and in Washington want to see a strong federal role to coordinate the huge undertaking and guard against misspending or corruption.

"Right now, it's just like our leaders were dazed during the disaster. I think they're still a bit dazed with just the enormity of the situation," said Rolfe McCollister Jr., publisher of the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. "Normally, cities build over time. Now suddenly they say, 'Where do we start?"'

The disaster's scope has made it difficult even to bring federal, state and local leaders together to discuss the challenges, said U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, a Democrat who represents a huge swath of southeastern Louisiana.

"Until you get the people back into the community, where do you meet with them? Who are they? Are they the same people that used to be, or is it a whole new cadre of people?" he said. "If I said I knew the answer, I'd be lying to you."

Still, some efforts are moving ahead:

* Mayor Ray Nagin has appointed 18 local leaders -- racially balanced, with Hispanic and Vietnamese representation -- to a new Commission for the Future of New Orleans, said prominent developer Joseph Canizaro, who is on the commission.

* Gov. Kathleen Blanco is rumored to be exploring her own panel on rebuilding, several business leaders said. Her administration is gathering input from officials in the state and beyond, but no group has been formed yet, said Michael Olivier, the state's economic development director.

* The Louisiana congressional delegation has called for $250 billion in federal aid to rebuild flood-ravaged New Orleans and repair hurricane damage elsewhere across the state.

Others have floated the idea of a regional group that ties together the entire Gulf Coast. Some have cited as inspiration the government-driven Tennessee Valley Authority of the 1930s that spurred development across much of the South.

U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal, a Republican who represents New Orleans suburbs, suggested a public-private redevelopment authority that can integrate federal support with local needs. "Every day we don't get something like this in place, that's another day of lost opportunity. I don't think we can do this soon enough," he said.

President Bush said Tuesday he is also considering how best to coordinate the recovery efforts.

"The vision and the element of reconstruction is just beginning and there may be a need for an interface with a particular person to help to make sure that the vision becomes reality," he said.

Politicians, business leaders and urban planners all point to different challenges and questions facing the region, many of which are interconnected: how to keep a below-sea-level city safe from the water that surrounds it, how much of the city's housing to rebuild, how to address the poverty endemic to the city.

Along with the urgency comes worries of political turf fights, no-bid contracts and Louisiana's legendary corruption. Some of that's already happening, said Buddy Roemer, a former Louisiana governor and four-term member of Congress.

"The majority thread I see, unfortunately, from the political forces, are the 'let's-serve-my-interests' thread," he said. "Now they see the cash cow of government and they see the prospect of getting the sweet milk of fulfillment."

The diverging hopes and efforts show the commitment and passion to act. But it could also simply be a sign of more chaos to come, a reflection of the fractured response to the storm.

"I don't know how this all folds into what's going on between the mayor and the president. And where does the governor fit into all this?" said Bill Hines, a prominent New Orleans lawyer who has been involved in discussions among both business and political leaders.

For him, like so many others, it's personal. His family is now in Houston, where his two daughters have been enrolled in school. He's struggling to get his business up and running.

"It's a horrible, horrible thing that there are areas with bodies to still be recovered. That will take quite a while," Hines said.

But the future must be addressed, he said. "You can't put everything aside until that's done, because then, frankly, New Orleans will die. You've got to do both at the same time."